Portage la Prairie celebrated their re-birth into the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League in 2015, under the nickname the Islanders.

Portager Jeremy Brooks started getting everything in place at the start of the year, and says it started taking off after January.

"We weren't really sure what to expect. We applied to the league, and went to the league meeting, and they were more than grateful to have a team in Portage. They've seen lots of guys come out of Portage and pursue senior hockey in other leagues. Then we weren't really sure what to expect in terms of support from the community and turn-out. We've been amazed at how the community has come together, and we've had great businesses come forward and help us out. We've had a lot of people come out and show interest in playing, and we have a full roster of 25 guys. It's really great to see."

The Islanders struggled a bit to start the season, going 1-5 in their first 6. Recently though things have changed for the Islanders, as they've won 5 straight and have climbed back up to 500. Brooks says they'd like to keep on winning into 2016, and maybe get a little more fan support as well.

"Well we want to see as much support as we can get. Anything we can do in the community, we're trying to start getting to more of those things. We love seeing support from the businesses and we want to see more support from fans. Anyone that wants to come out and support our games. So we're really looking forward to seeing what 2016 and future years can bring for us."

The Islanders' first match of 2016 is this Saturday, at Warren.